RBS Online
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RBS is now offering a varied series of free digital programs centered on bibliography and the history of the book. These programs will focus on the study of textual artifacts and their crucial role in shaping understandings of cultural heritage and informing humanistic research. The offerings include five series: a Course-Related Content Series offered by RBS faculty members that will be available to students who were enrolled at RBS this summer in some cases and, in others, open to wider audiences; a Panel Discussion Series, featuring RBS faculty members and colleagues from the broader book community; a Young Book Lovers Series, designed to engage K-12 audiences as well as others new to the book; a Lecture Series, building off of RBS’s traditional programming; and a BiblioVideo Series, highlighting pedagogy and research with textual artifacts.
This content, while not a substitute for Rare Book School’s full courses, will provide an opportunity to gather and pursue our shared love of learning what bibliographical materials reveal about human history and human nature, how to care for these remarkable objects, and how to share what we know with the wider world.
Check back often: new content will be announced on this website on a rolling basis. Use the tabs below to find more details.
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Course-Related Content Series
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In this series, members of our faculty will be discussing a variety of book history topics related to the courses that they offer at RBS, or to their current research. These events will include lecture-style talks with Q&A, discussion-based sessions, and webinars. There will be a mix of offerings primarily intended for students who were admitted to an RBS course this summer; offerings that are open to general registration on a first-come, first-serve basis; and offerings that are open to everyone who wishes to attend.
Click on the event title below for more details.
“The Scientific Woodblock to 1800” with Roger Gaskell and Caroline Duroselle-Melish
Thursday, 19 November, 12–1:10 p.m. ET.
“German Bookbinders in London: From Linde to Lewis” with Karen Limper-Herz
Wednesday, 11 November, 12–1:10 p.m. ET.
“How Making Paper by Hand and by Machine Impacts Its Characteristics” with Cathleen Baker
Wednesday, 28 October, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET.
“An Introduction to Letterpress Printing: A Studio-Based Workshop” with John Kristensen & Katherine McCanless Ruffin
Tuesday, 27 October, 12:00–1:15 p.m. ET
“Contemporary Artists’ Books: A Concise Introduction” with Tony White
Wednesday, 21 October, 5–6:10 p.m. ET.
“Understanding the Mechanical Behavior of Library and Archive Materials with Changes in Relative Humidity” with Al Carver-Kubik
Monday, 5 October 2020, 5 –6:10 p.m. ET.
“Introduction to ‘The Illustrated Scientific Book to 1800’ ” with Roger Gaskell and Caroline Duroselle-Melish
Wednesday, 23 September 2020, 12 –1:00 p.m. ET.
“Materials that Made the Manuscript” with Raymond Clemens
Mondays and Thursdays, 28 September–15 October 2020, 12 –1:00 p.m. ET.
“Scientific Analysis of the Book” with Raymond Clemens & Richard Hark
Thursdays, 17 September–22 October 2020, 4 –4:50 p.m. ET.
“Luxurious and Fashionable: An Introduction to Embroidered Bookbindings” with Karen Limper-Herz
Wednesday, 29 July, 11 a.m.–12:10 p.m. ET.
“On Digital Tools: Walk-through for Digital Mappa” with Dot Porter
“Introducing the Arthur Tress Collection of Japanese Illustrated Books” with Julie Nelson Davis
Wednesday, 22 July, 4–5:10 p.m. ET.
“Reference Sources for Researching Printed Americana: An Introduction” with Joel Silver
Monday, 20 July 2020, Wednesday, 22 July 2020, and Monday, 27 July 2020, 10–11 a.m. ET.
“Islamic Manuscripts: Your Questions Answered” with Marianna Shreve Simpson and Kelly Tuttle
Thursday, 16 July, 4–5:30 p.m. ET.
“Picturing the Floating World: Ukiyo-e in Context” with Julie Nelson Davis
Wednesday, 8 July, 4–5:10 p.m. ET.
“Textual Connected Histories and Global Legacies” with Roger Chartier & John Pollack
Wednesday, 8 July; Monday, 13 July; Wednesday, 15 July, 11-12:30 p.m. ET.
“An Introduction to Letterpress Printing: A Studio-Based Workshop” with John Kristensen & Katherine McCanless Ruffin
Wednesday, 1 July, 1–2:10 p.m. ET.
“Law Books: Your Questions Answered” with Mike Widener & Ryan Greenwood
Tuesday, 30 June, 2–3:30 p.m. ET.
“Contemporary Artists’ Books: A Concise Introduction” with Tony White
Wednesday, 24 June, 6–7:10 p.m. ET.
“Adhered-Boards Construction and the Transition to Case Binding” with Todd Pattison
Monday, 22 June, 2–3:30 p.m. ET
“Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books: Some Freely Available Sources” with Joel Silver
Mondays and Wednesday, 22 June–29 June, 10–11 a.m. ET
“Spending Bloomsday Talking to Checkers, Wingtip, and Speckles: or, How to Understand the First Printings of James Joyce’s Ulysses” with John Hessler
Tuesday, 16 June, 4–5 p.m. ET
“Flowers and Letter-Writing” with Peter Stallybrass
Mondays and Wednesdays, 27 May–15 June, 2020.
“A Curator’s Look at Indigenous Mapping in the Early Americas (1500–1575)” with John Hessler
Wednesday, 27 May, 2020; Monday, 1 June, 2020 ; Wednesday, 3 June 2020
“Materials that Made the Manuscript” with Raymond Clemens
Mondays and Thursdays, 18 May–8 June 2020
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Panel Discussion Series
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Open to everyone, these panel discussions will address a variety of topics related to textual artifacts, the bibliophilic community, and questions related to the current struggles faced by all during the pandemic.
The panel discussions will be held synchronously on Zoom with a concluding Q&A portion. Many of the discussions will be available afterward as a recording on our YouTube channel, which can be found here.
Click on the titles below to find more information.
Collecting & Copyright: Three Case Studies
Tuesday, 10 November, 4–5:00 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Race and the Boundaries of the Book: Seven Early American Perspectives
Tuesday, 20 October, 5–6:00 p.m. ET, via Zoom
A Fractured Inheritance: The Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities of Collecting Manuscript Fragments
Tuesday, 15 September, 5–6:30 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Black Print Culture
Tuesday, 1 September, 5–6 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Records of Deception: Forgeries and the Integrity of the Historical Record
Tuesday, 30 June, 4–5:15 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Books as Bridges
Tuesday, 23 June, 4–5:15 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Gains & Losses: COVID-19, Institutional Collecting, and the Antiquarian Book Trade
Tuesday, 19 May, 4–5:15 p.m. ET, via Zoom
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Lecture Series
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The RBS Lecture Series is a long-standing tradition. Please join us on Zoom to hear from our latest lecturers and participate in the concluding Q&A session. These lectures will be added to our digitized library of lectures for future instruction and enjoyment as well.
Click on the titles below for a full description.
Print and the Urdu Public: Newspapers, Muslims, and Urban Life in Colonial India, a lecture by Megan Robb
Thursday, 23 July, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
From Poet to Publisher: Reading Gwendolyn Brooks by Design, a lecture by Kinohi Nishikawa
Thursday, 16 July, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
An Alternative History of the Atlas, a lecture by Ayesha Ramachandran
Thursday, 2 July, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
A Hornbook for Digital Book History, a lecture by Whitney Trettien
Thursday, 18 June, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Superheroes and Shocking Affairs, or, Adventures in Cataloging Popular Literature, a lecture by Brenna Bychowski
Thursday, 11 June, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
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Young Book Lovers Series
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This series, featuring a variety of book-related activities, including how-to videos you can follow in your own home, read- along(s) with our Rare Book School staff, and coloring pages based on RBS’s teaching collections, is intended for children and adults alike who love books and book history.
Follow this link to see all of our Young Book Lovers Series offerings!
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BiblioVideo Series
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This series of pre-recorded content features videos focused on pedagogy and research produced by RBS Fellows, staff, and members of the RBS community.
Click on the title below for more information.
BiblioVideos on Race and the Boundaries of the Book: Seven Early American Perspectives
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Previously Recorded Content
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In addition to our new RBS Online series’ content, you can find more resources on our YouTube channel.
Also, find years’ worth of Rare Book School lectures at our Soundcloud page!
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